Films from as far afield as Asia, Africa, and South America will vie for the golden prize at the 11th International Film Festival in Damascus, according to the Syrian daily Teshrin.

Parallel to the official film festival, a number of side activities will take place, covering new Chinese cinema, a century of cinema, filmmaking and the Palestinian issue, and overviews of other festivals.

According to Tishreen, among the films with confirmed participation in the festival is the silver award winning film “Paradiso” (Paradise), late of Berlin festival fame.

The Spanish movie “Tanawal Alshai Maana” (Take Tea with Us) will also be screened, along with two from Cairo by Radwan Al Kashef and Daoud Abdel Sayyed, which are currently being shot and are gearing up for a big debut.

Morocco will be represented by the movie “Wa Ba’d” (And Then) by the director Mohammed Ismail, and Lebanon by “Taif Al Madinah” (City Spectrum) by Jon Shamoun, who has won many awards at various international and Arab festivals.

This is in addition to two Syrian films, “Kamaran wa Zaytounah” (Two Moons and an Olive) by director Abdel Latif Abdel Hamid, and “Zahr Arrumman” (Pomegranate Blossoms), by Ghassan Shmait.

A number of booklets and commentaries have been issued to accompany the festival, as well as five newly translated books – Albawaba.com